K Satyanarayana
Project Investigator
Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi-110029

Abstract

Aims to map the Indian contributions in biomedical sciences based on the research papers published in various journals and indexed in three databases, viz., Index Medicus, Excerpta Medica and Tropical Diseases Bulletin of 1990 and 1994. The CD-ROM versions of these databases of both the years were chosen for the study. Thus, the years correspond to the years of publication of the CD-ROM databases and need not necessarily the years of publication of the papers. The report presents the database-wise analysis.

Index Medicus

The number of papers contributed from India as indexed in the database of 1990 and 1994 are 3,605 and 3,241 respectively while the total coverage of the databases (global coverage) is 379,939 and 551,885. The share of India declined from 0.949 per cent for 1990 to 0.587 per cent for 1994 in the database.

Of the 3,605 Indian papers for 1990, as many as 1,743 (48.35 per cent) were published in Indian journals and the rest were in foreign journals. For the year 1994, the corresponding share in Indian journals was 1,432 papers out of 3,241 (44.18 per cent).

Subject Classification

The entire coverage of the database is divided into 75 subject areas and an analysis of the Indian contributions in these areas shows that the top five areas in terms of contribution of Indian papers indexed in the 1990 database, are in this order — Medicine General with 626 papers (17.36 per cent), Paediatrics with 339 papers (9.4 per cent), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with 326 papers (9.04 per cent), Biology with 217 papers (6.02 per cent) and Dermatology with 122 papers (3.38 per cent).

The top five areas in terms of world contribution for this year are, Surgery with 43,149 papers (11.36 per cent), Physiology with 38,611 papers (10.16 per cent), Oncology with 35,954 papers (9.46 per cent), Plant Chemistry with 34,713 papers (9.14 per cent) and Immunology with 17,961 papers (4.73 per cent). For the year 1994 the trend was slightly different. The most prolific areas in India were: Medicine General, 563 papers (17.37 per cent); Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 313 papers (9.66 per cent); Paediatrics, 310 papers (9.56 per cent); Biology, 167 papers (5.15 per cent) and Oncology, 143 papers (4.41 per cent). The five most prolific areas in terms of global output of papers were Plant Chemistry, 64,276 papers (11.65 per cent); Surgery, 46,044 papers (8.34 per cent); Physiology, 44,216 papers (8.01 per cent); Oncology, 33,122 papers (6 per cent) and Toxicology, 16,459 papers (2.98 per cent).

Journal-wise Contributions

The Indian papers indexed in the 1990 database were published in 668 journals and in the 1994 database they were from 678 journals. The journals which carried maximum number of Indian papers in descending order for 1990 are: Journal of Association of Physicians of India (5.72 per cent), Indian Paediatrics (5.21 per cent), Indian Journal of Medical Research (5.2 per cent), Indian Journal of Experimental Biology (5.13 per cent), Indian Journal of Paediatrics (3.08 per cent), Journal of Indian Medical Association (2.91 per cent), Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics (2.5 per cent), Indian Journal of Pathology & Microbiology (2.13 per cent), Biochemistry International (1.8 per cent), Indian Heart Journal (1.78 per cent). The top ten journals in terms of publication of Indian papers account for about 35.45 per cent of the total Indian papers published.

The journals which published the maximum number of Indian papers indexed in the 1994 database are: Journal of Association of Physicians of India (6.42 per cent), Indian Paediatrics (5.46 per cent), Indian Journal of Experimental Biology (4.35 per cent), Indian Journal of Medical Research (3.67 per cent), Journal of Indian Medical Association (3.14 per cent), Indian Journal of Paediatrics (2.71 per cent), Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics (2.5 per cent), Indian Heart Journal (2.03 per cent), Indian Journal of Pathology & Microbiology (2.07 per cent), Indian Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology (1.8 per cent), etc. The top ten journals account for 34.1 per cent of all Indian papers.

The top ten journals (that published Indian papers) in terms of impact factor (IF) are: The New England Journal of Medicine (IF 24.455), Lancet (IF 15.940), Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, USA (IF 10.480), Molecular and Cellular Biology (IF 8.291), Journal of Biological Chemistry (IF 6.733), Annals of Neurology (IF 6.320), Journal of Clinical Oncology (IF 6.137), Journal of American College of Cardiology (IF 5.898), Journal of Virology (IF 5.696) and Journal of Infectious Diseases (IF 5.499)

Of the 668 journals that published Indian papers, 535 (80.09 per cent) were indexed in the Science Citation Index (SCI) and these published 1,880 (52.15 per cent) Indian papers as indexed in the 1990 database. In the 1994 database, of the 678 journals publishing Indian papers 522 (76.99 per cent) were indexed in the SCI and they published 1,672 (52.15 per cent) Indian papers. This shows that about half of the Indian papers were published in journals not indexed by SCI.

The journals publishing Indian papers for both the years are published from 36 countries [Country-wise details are not presented in the analysis]. Prominent among them are USA, UK, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland and India.

Institution-wise Contributions

Institution-wise break-up of contributions shows that the 3,605 papers indexed in the 1990 database were contributed from 621 institutions including colleges. Of the total, there are about 50 individual contributors whose affiliations are not given in the database. The top institutions in terms of output of papers, as per the 1990 database, are Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI), Chandigarh (249 papers); All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi (243 papers); Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi (88 papers); Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), Mumbai (87 papers); Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow (71 papers); Christian Medical College & Hospital (CMC&H), Vellore (66 papers); KEM Hospital, Mumbai (65 papers); etc. The database of 1994 however puts the AIIMS, New Delhi at the top (245 papers) with other institutions maintaining more or less the same rank.

The 3,241 papers indexed in the 1994 database were contributed from 615 institutions including colleges. Individual contributions were only three.

Place-wise Contributions

All the Indian papers indexed in both the years 1990 and 1994 were contributed from 172 and 157 cities or towns in India respectively. As per the 1990 database, the highest contributing cities are New Delhi (715 papers, 19.83 per cent), Mumbai (427 papers, 11.85 per cent), Chandigarh (305 papers, 8.46 per cent), Calcutta (208 papers, 5.77 per cent), Lucknow (202 papers, 5.6 per cent), Chennai (112 papers, 3.11 per cent), Varanasi (112 papers, 3.11 per cent), etc. The trend was almost the same for 1994 also.

The top five contributing states or union territories for 1990 are Delhi (715 papers, 19.83 per cent), Maharashtra (517 papers, 14.34 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (488 papers, 13.54 per cent), Chandigarh (254 papers, 7.05 per cent) and West Bengal (242 papers, 6.71 per cent). The highest contributing states or union territories for 1994 are Delhi (629 papers, 19.41 per cent), Maharashtra (436 papers, 13.45 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (372 papers, 11.48 per cent), West Bengal (245 papers, 7.56 per cent) and Karnataka (236 papers, 7.28 per cent)

Excerpta Medica

The number of papers contributed from India as indexed in the database of 1990 and 1994 are 3,453 and 2,193 respectively, while the total coverage of the databases (global coverage) is 250,366 and 263,080. The share of India declined from 1.379 per cent for 1990 to 0.834 per cent for 1994. It is to be noted that the coverage of Indian contributions by the database is gradully declining, not the actual Indian productivity.

Of the 3,453 Indian papers for 1990 as many as 1,422 (41.18 per cent) were published in Indian journals and the rest were in foreign journals. For the year 1994, the corresponding share in Indian journals was 495 papers out of 2,193 (22.57 per cent)

Subject Classification

The entire coverage of the database is divided into 74 subject areas and an analysis of the Indian contributions in these areas shows that the areas of maximum Indian contribution as per the 1990 database are Chemistry/Pharmacology with 657 papers (19.03 per cent), Medicine General with 286 papers (8.28 per cent), Pharmacology [The report does not clarify how this is different from chemistry/pharmacology] with 259 papers (7.5 per cent), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with 240 papers (6.95 per cent), and Environment with 204 papers (5.91 per cent). The top five areas in terms of global contribution for this year are Pharmacology with 40,011 papers (15.98 per cent), Respiratory System with 10,921 papers (4.36 per cent), Materials/Biocytology [This term needs clarification but it is not given in the report] with 6,986 papers (2.79 per cent) and Behaviour with 5,725 papers (2.29 per cent). The trend was, however, different for 1994. The areas of maximum Indian contributions for this year are Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with 200 papers (9.12 per cent), Pharmacology with 200 papers (9.12 per cent), Medicine General with 149 papers (6.79 per cent), Environment with 101 papers (4.61 per cent) and Microbiology with 75 papers (3.42 per cent). The top areas in terms of global contribution for this year are Pharmacology with 45,107 papers (17.15 per cent), Surgery with 21,730 papers (8.26 per cent), Toxicology with 14,679 papers (5.53 per cent) Respiratory System with 10,172 papers (3.87 per cent), Instrumentation/Otorhinolaryngology with 6,372 papers (2.24 per cent) and Cytology with 6,372 papers (2.42 per cent).

Journal-wise Contributions

The Indian papers indexed in the 1990 database were published in 685 journals and in the 1994 database they were from 605 journals. The journals which carried maximum number of Indian papers in descending order for 1990 are: Journal of Indian Chemical Society (7.85 per cent), Indian Journal of Chemistry Section B (6 per cent), Indian Journal of Medical Research (3.6 per cent), Indian Journal of Dermatology (3.18 per cent), Indian Drugs (2.52 per cent), Indian Journal of Experimental Biology (1.88 per cent), etc.

The journals which published maximum number of Indian papers indexed in the 1994 database are: Indian Drugs (3.19 per cent), Indian Journal of Medical Research (2.92 per cent), Indian Journal of Experimental Biology (2.51 per cent), Tetrahedron Letters (2.14 per cent), Indian Journal of Dermatology (1.82 per cent), Tetrahedron (1.79 per cent), Indian Paediatrics (1.69 per cent), etc.

The top ten journals (that published Indian papers) in terms of impact factor (IF) for 1990 are: The New England Journal of Medicine (IF 24.455), Immunology Today (IF 20.274), Lancet (IF 15.940), Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences USA (IF 10.480), Annals of Internal Medicine (IF 10.217), American Journal of Human Genetics (IF 9.067), Archives of General Psychiatry (IF 8.227), Annals of Neurology (IF 6.320), Clinical and Experimental Immunology (IF 6.089) and Gastroenterology (IF 5.919)

The top ten journals (that published Indian papers) in terms of impact factor for 1994 are: Nature (IF 22.139), Lancet (IF 15.940), Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences USA (IF 10.480), American Journal of Medical Genetics (IF 9.076), American Journal of Human Genetics (IF 9.067), Archives of General Psychiatry (IF 8.227), Blood (IF 8.061), Journal of National Cancer Institute (IF 7.349), Journal of Clinical Oncology (IF 6.137), and AIDS (IF 6.089)

Of the 685 journals that published Indian papers, 561(81.90 per cent) were indexed in SCI and these published 2,430 (70.37 per cent) Indian papers as indexed in the 1990 database. In the 1994 database, of the 605 journals publishing Indian papers 483 (79.83 per cent) were indexed in the SCI and they published only 662 (30.19 per cent) Indian papers. This shows that the publication of Indian papers in medical sciences in journals indexed in SCI declined by more than 50 per cent in the 1994 database as compared to the 1990 database.

Institution-wise Contributions

Institution-wise break-up of contributions shows that the 3,453 papers indexed in the 1990 database were contributed from 656 institutions including colleges. Of the total, there are about 25 individual contributors whose affiliations are not given in the database. The 2,193 papers indexed in the 1994 database were contributed from 528 institutions including colleges. Individual contributors whose affiliations are not given in the database were about 45.

The top institutions in terms of output of papers as per the 1990 database are PGI, Chandigarh (181 papers); AIIMS, New Delhi (160 papers); CDRI, Lucknow (94 papers); Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai (59 papers); TMC, Mumbai (56 papers); Panjab University, Chandigarh (56 papers); Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore (52 papers), etc. The trend was more or less the same for 1994 also except that the top ranking institution was AIIMS, New Delhi with 113 papers.

Place-wise Contributions

All the Indian papers indexed in both the years 1990 and 1994 were contributed from 148 and 154 cities or towns respectively. As per the 1990 database, the highest contributing cities are New Delhi (457 papers, 13.24 per cent), Mumbai (397 papers, 11.50 per cent), Chandigarh (244 papers, 7.07 per cent), Lucknow (239 papers, 6.92 per cent), Calcutta (213 papers, 6.17 per cent), Hyderabad (127 papers, 3.68 per cent), Chennai (118 papers, 3.42 per cent), Bangalore (104 papers, 3.01 per cent), Varanasi (96 papers, 2.78 per cent), etc. The trend was more or less the same for 1994 also.

The top five contributing states or union territories for 1990 are Uttar Pradesh (568 papers, 16.45 per cent), Maharashtra (536 papers, 15.52 per cent), West Bengal (263 papers, 7.62 per cent), Tamil Nadu (215 papers, 6.23 per cent) and Chandigarh [It is not explained how this figure is different from the figure given above under Chandigarh as a city] (188 papers, 5.45 per cent). The highest contributing states or union territories for 1994 are Maharashtra (340 papers, 15.50 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (256 papers, 11.67 per cent), Tamil Nadu (214 papers, 9.76 per cent), Karnataka (179 papers, 8.16 per cent) and Chandigarh (94 papers, 4.29 per cent).

Tropical Diseases Bulletin

The number of papers contributed from India, as indexed in the database of 1990 and 1994 are 233 and 209 respectively while the total coverage of the databases (global coverage) is 2,883 and 2,467. The share of India increased slightly from 8.08 per cent for 1990 to 8.47 per cent for 1994.

Of the 233 Indian papers for 1990, as many as 69 (29.61 per cent) were published in Indian journals and the rest were in foreign journals. For the year 1994, the corresponding share in Indian journals was 76 papers out of 209 (36.36 per cent).

Subject Classification

The entire coverage of the database is divided into 29 subject areas and an analysis of the Indian contributions in these areas shows that the top five areas in terms of contribution of Indian papers indexed in the 1990 database are: Bacteriology and Bacterial Diseases (67 papers, 28.76 per cent), Malaria (30 papers, 12.88 per cent), Helminthology and Helminthiasis (26 papers, 11.16 per cent), Virology and Viral Diseases (20 papers, 8.58 per cent) and Microbiology and Microbial Diseases — General (16 papers, 6.87 per cent). The top five areas in terms of global contribution for this year are: Helminthology and Helminthiasis (597 papers, 18.27 per cent), Bacteriology and Bacterial Diseases (496 papers, 15.18 per cent), Virology and Viral Diseases (409 papers, 12.52 per cent), Medical Entomology (258 papers, 7.90 per cent) and Microbiology and Microbial Diseases — General (135 papers, 4.13 per cent). For the year 1994 the trend was different. The most prolific areas in India were — Bacteriology and Bacterial Diseases (77 papers, 36.84 per cent), Helminthology and Helminthiasis (21 papers. 10.05 per cent), Virology and Viral Diseases (21 papers, 10.05 per cent), Medical Entomology (14 papers, 6.70 per cent) and Malaria (12 papers, 5.74 per cent). The five most prolific areas in terms of global output of papers were Bacteriology and Bacterial Diseases (498 papers, 20.19 per cent), Helminthology and Helminthiasis (372 papers, 15.08 per cent), Virology and Viral Diseases (360 papers, 14.59 per cent), Malaria (265 papers, 10.74 per cent) and Leishmaniasis (153 papers, 6.2 per cent).

Journal-wise Contributions

The Indian papers indexed in the 1990 database were published in 80 journals and in the 1994 database they were from 89 journals. The journals which carried maximum number of Indian papers in descending order for 1990 are: Indian Journal of Medical Research (10.73 per cent), Indian Journal of Leprosy (7.29 per cent), Transactions of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (6.43 per cent), Journal of Tropical Paediatrics (4.72 per cent), Leprosy Review (4.29 per cent), Indian Journal of Experimental Biology (4.29 per cent), etc.

The journals which published the maximum number of Indian papers indexed in the 1994 database are: Indian Paediatrics (18.18 per cent), Leprosy Review (4.78 per cent), Journal of Tropical Paediatrics (4.30 per cent), Indian Journal of Medical Research (3.82 per cent), International Journal of Leprosy (3.82 per cent), Tropical Doctor (2.87 per cent), Transactions of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (2.39 per cent), Indian Journal of Experimental Biology (2.39 per cent), Annals of Tropical Paediatrics (1.91 per cent), etc.

The IF of top ten journals that published Indian papers for 1990 are: Science (IF 20.967), Lancet (IF 15.940), Annals of Internal Medicine (IF 10.217), Journals of Biological Chemistry (IF 6.733), Journal of Infectious Diseases (IF 5.499), British Medical Journal (IF 4.338), The Biochemical Journal (IF 3.716) Infection and Immunity (IF 3.427), Tissue Antigens (IF 3.297) and American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (IF 3.008).

The IF of top journals that published Indian papers for 1994 are: Nature (IF 22.139), Lancet (IF 15.940), Journal of Infectious Diseases (IF 5.499), Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology (IF 3.069), Antimicrobial Agents Chemotherapy (IF 2.950), Parasite Immunology (IF 1.929), Vaccine (IF 1.920), American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (IF 1.900), American Journal of Kidney Diseases (IF 1.841) and American Journal of Roentgenology (IF 1.841).

Of the 80 journals that published Indian papers 55 (68.75 per cent) were indexed in SCI and these published 153 (65.67 per cent) Indian papers as indexed in the 1990 database. In the 1994 database, of the 89 journals publishing Indian papers, 51 (57.30 per cent) were indexed in the SCI and they published 112 (53.29 per cent) Indian papers. This suggests that over the two years (1990 and 1994) the number of Indian biomedical papers in SCI-indexed journals declined significantly.

Institution-wise Contributions

Institution-wise break-up of contributions [Figures according to the type of institutions, say, academic, R&D, etc., are not provided] shows that the 233 papers indexed in the 1990 database were contributed from 83 institutions including colleges. The 209 papers indexed in the 1994 database were contributed from 103 institutions including colleges. Individual contributors whose affiliation could not be ascertained from the database number eight.

The top institutions in terms of output of papers as per the 1990 database are AIIMS, New Delhi (23 papers), CDRI, Lucknow (19 papers), PGI, Chandigarh (15 papers), Vector Control Research Centre (VCRC), Pondicherry (11 papers), Central JALMA Institute of Leprosy, Agra (11 papers), CMC&H, Vellore (10 papers), MRC, Delhi (9 papers), etc. The trend was more or less the same for 1994 also except that the top contributor was PGI, Chandigarh (16 papers).

Place-wise Contributions

All the Indian papers indexed in both the years 1990 and 1994 were contributed from 42 and 50 cities or towns in India respectively. As per the 1990 database, the top ten cities in terms of output are: New Delhi (51 papers, 21.89 per cent), Mumbai (25 papers, 10.73 per cent), Lucknow (23 papers, 9.87 per cent), Pondicherry (12 papers, 5.15 per cent), Agra (11 papers, 4.72 per cent), Vellore (10 papers, 4.29 per cent), etc. The trend was almost the same for 1994 also.

The top five contributing states or union territories for 1990 are: Delhi (51 papers, 21.89 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (41 papers, 17.60 per cent), Maharashtra (30 papers, 12.88 per cent), Tamil Nadu (19 papers, 8.16 per cent) and West Bengal (18 papers, 7.23 per cent). For the year 1994, the top contributing states or union territories are: Delhi (38 papers, 18.18 per cent), Maharashtra (27 papers, 12.92 per cent), West Bengal (26 papers, 12.44 per cent), Tamil Nadu (25 papers, 11.96 per cent) and Chandigarh (17 papers, 8.13 per cent).

* The paper is based on the report prepared under National Mapping of Science project, sponsored by NISSAT. The coverage of Indian contributions in the databases covered in the study is only partial and does not reflect the total Indian productivity. As such, conclusion drawn on the basis of the data may not always be correct. The Impact Factors used in the paper seem to have been drawn from Journal Citation Report. - Editor

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Information Today & Tomorrow, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2000, p.17-p.21
http://vkv.tripod.com/itt20001/nmsbio.htm